The SGA Senate unanimously voted Heather Hutchcraft, a first-term senator for the College of Engineering, as the speaker of the Senate on Aug. 28, potentially violating its own constitution.
Following the resignation of Hannon Bulger, former senator for the College of Human Environmental Sciences and the previous speaker of the Senate, the SGA Senate took a vote at its first regular session meeting to fill the speaker position. However, according to the SGA constitution, Hutchcraft was possibly ineligible for the position, because she is a first-term senator.
Section 5: B2 of Article III of the SGA constitution states that senators “must have been elected and served a full term as a senator in order to qualify to run as a candidate for Speaker of the Senate. If no senators fulfill this requirement or if only one senator meets this requirement, then any regularly elected senator may run for Speaker of the Senate.”
After opening the legislative session and confirmations, SGA executive vice president Aubrei Grisaffe, who presided over the Senate after Bulger’s resignation, opened the nominations for the speaker of the Senate position by incorrectly citing a specific clause of the constitution regarding eligibility for the position.
“According to the SGA constitution, eligibility for speaker is first extended to senators who are in at least their second full year of service in the Senate,” Grisaffe said. “If no second year or higher members wish to run, then any senator, regardless of year, may place their name into nomination.”
The constitution states that senators in their first term can only be chosen as the speaker of the Senate if there are fewer than two qualified “senators,” not if there are fewer than two other qualified “nominees” or candidates seeking election, as was the case during the meeting. There are several current senators who already have been elected to and served full terms, meaning the eligibility exception granted to Hutchcraft may not have applied.
As there were no other candidates nominated besides Hutchcraft, a vote was taken and she was unanimously elected Speaker.
When asked if her phrasing accurately reflected the constitution’s requirements at a later interview with The Crimson White, Grisaffe said that it did.
“I was quoting from the constitution directly,” Grisaffe said. “I took the text from the constitution that was applicable to the specific section of the proceedings.”
Hutchcraft said she was unable to meet for an in-person interview, but replied over email. She said that as a senator, one of her “priorities is to abide by” the SGA’s constitution and code of conduct. She said that “the entire Senate was reminded of” Section 5: B2 of the SGA constitution prior to her election as Speaker during SGA 101, an informational session required for members of the Senate to attend.
“On August 28th, the nominating process for the Speaker of the Senate was initially opened to second term senators first,” Hutchcraft said. “When no one was nominated, [the] Executive Vice President, who was presiding over the Senate, opened the nominations to all senators. I was the only senator nominated and unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Senate.”
Hence then, the article about sga potentially violates constitution with election of senate speaker was published today ( ) and is available on The Crimson White ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( SGA potentially violates constitution with election of Senate speaker )
Also on site :